Phanteks came onto our radar in a big way
last month with the PH-TC14PE, a dual-tower animal built to destroy CPU heat.
But tower it does: Standing tall at 6.73 inches, the PH-TC14PE requires a
decent-sized case in order to properly set up shop. Although it’s perfect for
overclockers with extreme builds, you might have trouble fitting it through the
door of your HTPC, so to speak. But fear not, small form factor sympathizers!
Phanteks has aimed its shrink ray at the PH-TC14PE and blasted it down to a
much smaller size. The result is the PH-TC90LS, a low-profile CPU cooler that
has the same smarts as its big brother.

Phanteks
PH-TC90LS

The brilliance of the PH-TC14PE that has
made its way to the PH-TC90LS are Phanteks’ P.A.T.S. (Physical Anti-Oxidant
Thermal Shield) and C.P.S.C. (Cold Plasma Spraying Coating) technologies. Of
the two, P.A.T.S. is especially helpful for this CPU cooler, which is clearly
intended for smaller chassis, where there’s space inside for your build’s
components but not much else. Ambient temperatures inside SFF and HTPC cases
can be particularly nasty if you pack them with high-powered components, but
Phanteks’ P.A.T.S. technology is able to deflect some of that heat. Because of
this, the PH-TC90LS’ aluminum fins are free to absorb heat from the CPU (as is
their job, after all) rather than the surrounding air. C.P.S.C. aids the
thermal transfer between the PH-TC90LS’ three 6mm heatpipes and the fins, but
we also like that it lets Phanteks match the color (white) of the fins to the
included 80mm fan.

With the included PH-F90 80mm PWM fan
attached, PH -TC90LS measures a mere 1.7 inches high, making its size one of
its biggest selling points. You read that right: The PH-TC90LS is a full 5
inches shorter than the PH-TC14PE. This makes the PH-TC90LS a prime candidate
for the smallest of cases. Trust us, clearance should not be an issue.

But can it handle the heat? After all,
saving space is only a good thing if your cooler can keep your CPU’s thermals in
check. To that end, we put the PH-TC90LS under the same stress we give to
full-sized CPU coolers, and it handled the load like a champ. The PH-TC90LS
kept our Core i7-3770K idling at 33 degrees Celsius. When we put our processor
under load with Orthos, POV-Ray, and Prime95, we logged CPU load temps of 55 C,
72 C, and 70 C. For a cooler that’s about as thick as a McDonald’s
cheeseburger, those temps are pretty impressive.

The PH-TC90LS may be short in stature, but
don’t let its size fool you. This tiny wonder plays it cool even when the
action heats up.